Wrapping up we wanted to toss out some final odds and ends from the press conference. Unlike some of the other press conferences (*cough* Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)) who were a bit odd in delivery and lacked a clear driving message, Qualcomm really delivered a compelling presentation showing off some of its biggest works in progress.

At the heart of its talk was the Snapdragon 4 platform, which is an appropriate place to conclude our coverage of the event. Snapdragon 4 is a platform aimed at smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even internet televisions.

It will come a-knocking in "early 2012", as a variety of dual- and quad-core chips. While that may sound scary from a smartphone power consumption perspective, Qualcomm is going to be building its products on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp., Ltd.'s (TPE:2330) new 28 nm process, which allows for much more power efficient performance, thanks to the smaller feature size. The leaner, cooler chips also allow for a bump in performance.

Android has been an important driver of Snapdragon.

On the GPU front, they will feature the new Adreno 225, and promise 1080p 3D video playback and support for Dolby 7.1 surround sound.

Qualcomm says that it has 70 designs already in the works, from a plethora of partners. Its particularly going hard at putting its "game-changer" Snapdragon 4 platform on Windows 8 tablets and notebooks.

States Qualcomm Chairman and CEO, Dr. Paul Jacobs, "Windows 8 is Windows reimagined as it is enabled by Snapdragon."

He enthusiastically spoke of an "always on, always active" lineup of Snapdragon 4 devices. Clearly Snapdragon 4 has its work cut out for it, taking on Intel, but they've brought some top tier firepower on their side, including top mixed martial arts champion Alistair Overeem who made a surprise appearance at the keynote (Qualcom apparently makes an "Ubereem" themed video game...).

2012 should be quite the interesting year as ARM and x86 (Intel) engage in total war on the PC market. This may be bad news for the loser, but its great news for the consumers should be able to purchase laptops, tablets, and smartphones at terrific prices and get fantastic device performance.